I still take LOTS of pictures - my iPhone has over 4,000 photos, most of which are of my artwork in various stages of completion! So I thought I'd bring it back. Not only will it keep me creating every week, but maybe my weekly posts can help YOU!

So here's the first one!

This page underwent a radical change as I worked on it. I was trying to figure out what colors I loved, and what I want to use for a small series of paintings. So I just kept putting down color -- both acrylic and gouache -- until I got to a place I loved...

(Just a little workspace picture to show you what I was using! We spent 5 hours painting on the floor!)

And here's some detail shots of the final page!

This quote is on the fridge at my new home, and it always reminds me that no matter how big things may feel right now, there's beauty in the chaos.

Find the edge of your comfort zone and push past it. Allow yourself to paint over things. In the video, I talk about how many layers went into the background...each was liked until I changed the girl's hair, and I had to paint over what was already there. I love how a journal page evolves. I've become a big fan of lots of layers; a woman looking at my journal once commented that every time she saw the pages, she saw something new. I love that. It means I've done my job -- I've sparked curiosity & wonder in someone.

There are so many ideas in my head these days, balls of creativity floating in my mind. I wish I could reach up and grab one. But some days are harder than others, and I have to fight and claw myself out of the hole of my depression and anxiety. This isn't to say I'm not joyous and grateful each day, because I am. But as a friend said, I'm learning to live again. I never knew a mental battle could be just as exhausting as a physical one, but they really are.

So I encourage you to work in your art journal this weekend, even if you don't feel like it. It was hard for me to sit down and create, and I often have to take breaks. But get back to it. There's a lot to be discovered under the surface if you're willing to go on the journey.

Thank you for all the lovely birthday messages yesterday! I spent it doing normal things, but joyous throughout for all I've accomplished in the past two months. I now have a stable address & am thankful every day for all those friends who have helped me get here. There's still work to be done, though!

If I could explain what I do, as an artist, I'd say I'm a lifelong student of colors. All my work for the past year and a half has been focused on playing with color...seeing which work together and which don't. And through this period of exploration, I found I can naturally gravitate towards harmonious combinations.

It really does take hard work & passion to develop your skills!

It's hugely rewarding to help others find their colors. For years, I've had this nudge to create something along those lines...an article, blog posts, or even a class. I want to help others find their colors so they can get back to being artists. Discovering your colors is more than just developing a palette -- your whole life changes. Your wardrobe shifts, your jewelry changes, & you can decorate your home really easily!

I recently finished this piece -- I've been paying attention to contrast and balance, making sure to have black and white (or a dark and light color), which helps a lot. I even grabbed glitter and blew it across the surface.

This week, I decided to get a little personal with my work. I haven't shared some of these pages, but I find this process to be incredibly therapeutic.

I've added narration this week so you can learn more about what I'm using & my thoughts behind each choice. And the video isn't edited down...mistakes are in there, as well as space to gather my thoughts. I had to pause a couple of times because of what I was uncovering in myself through journaling. This is truly my heart spilling out onto the page.

I didn't go into this with a lot of thought -- I wanted to match the sepia tone of the old photographs while also using my mother's favorite color, purple. I knew I wanted to write some private thoughts down, and layer the words so that they aren't really all that readable. Building up these layers allowed me to peel back layers of myself, and I discovered some emotions I didn't know were down there.

If you tackle something big like this in your art journal, know that you're going to be transformed by the process. Get some good music and let it play loud as you work. And step away when you need to, but always get back up and keep at it. It's hard, but rewarding.

I'd love to hear from you! I'm also thinking of putting this all together in a Ning group once I finish posting. We have two more lessons to go!

One of the things I love doing, when I meet a new artist I admire, is sitting down to watch them work.

There are so many things that go into a finished art journal spread or painting, or any creative endeavor that exist under the surface. What we see as "finished" is a collection of not only paint and paper, but the music, location, time of day, and anything seemingly random that the artist encountered that day.

Heart to Art is a 4-week mini-workshop where I'll not only create a video for you to watch, but explain all the other stuff going on that connected at that moment of time. I want to share the process because the finished spread is only half the journey. I am interested in how certain things came together to create the art I love so much.

I've just gone through a rough patch with many complications, and two weeks post-everything has me seeing the world in a new way, walking around, living out of a suitcase, and living on faith. Faith that things will fall into place. Faith that I'm doing the right thing. These are a few of the thoughts going through my mind as I began to paint.

Golden's new High Flow Acrylics are awesome for making drips down the page. I haven't done too much of this lately, but like playing and moving quickly when I'm in the flow of creating. I made the mistake of hitting the dark indigo with green gold...which makes a yucky color. But instead of thinking the page was finished, I kept going, knowing I could fix it.

One thing I wanted to play with was my newest digital collage sheet. I'm old school when it comes to collage sheets - get some scissors, copies, and double-sided tape and I'm good to go. However, I've been experimenting with using elements from journal pages and creating the collage sheets completely on the computer. It's so fun and allows me to make them much more easier.

Around the time I started putting down the acrylics and thicker layers, a new song came on my Spotify radio. Some of the feel of the song & the bit of the speech jumped into my journal. Who doesn't want life to be an adventure? I'm standing on the edge about to step into that wonderful life, face to the sun, free.

(Seeing and feeling passion, combined with great music & talent, can do a lot. I love the indirect way the music I listen to gets into the flow of my world.)

I'll be using the comments section as a forum -- feel free to post questions/impressions there and I will reply to the best of my ability.